Over the past four years, frac sand companies in Trempealeau County have begun using an obscure, legal maneuver called annexation to avoid strict county regulations. By convincing cities to stretch their boundaries around mines, companies can work directly with the city officials rewriting the rules. But a lawsuit brought by two towns could have a chilling effect on future frac sand annexations.

The brother of Dontre Hamilton says that a new state law requiring external investigations of police-involved deaths needs to be amended to prevent local district attorneys from deciding whether such shootings are justified.

A Brown County court has vacated the conviction of a 51-year-old man who spent 17 years in prison for a sexual assault he didn't commit. Mario Vasquez walked out of court on Jan. 30 a free man. The 1989 charges of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl were dismissed after Wisconsin Innocence...